Category Archives: Alternative Medicine

The most common frontline treatment for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine sulfate, and prednisone (CHOP). However, approximately 1 in 3 patients relapse after CHOP, and alternative therapies are still needed.

According to Jason Westin, MD, the leader of the DLBCL research team at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the strategies for DLBCL treatment have not changed drastically since the mid 1970s. Additionally, more information is needed as to why patients relapse after CHOP.

For patients who are CHOP resistant, the standard of care is strong chemotherapy followed by an autologous stem cell transplant. However, according to Westin, more personalized and targeted therapies are needed.

In an interview with Targeted OncologyTM, Westin discussed the future of DLBCL treatment in both the frontline and later-line settings, along with current unmet clinical needs.

TARGETED ONCOLOGY: Can you give a background on current treatments in DLBCL?

WESTIN: DLBCL is the most common lymphoid cancer in adults, it's diagnosed in about 30,000 people each year in the US. And the treatments of that most common lymphoid cancer have been effectively stuck in the 1970s and the 1990s. We use a combination chemotherapy approach called CHOP, which was originally prescribed in 1976. We've changed a lot in life from 1976 to now, but we're still using this old combination chemotherapy in the curative setting for lymphoma. So obviously, new approaches are needed.

What does the current DLBCL treatment landscape?

Most patients are treated with the combination chemotherapy CHOP, and that cures approximately 2/3 of patients. It's a fairly effective standard therapy. However, at least 1 out of 3 people need additional treatments, and we don't do as well in the relapse setting as we'd like. So, we're constantly trying to innovate and improve that frontline setting and get beyond the 2/3 cure rate with initial treatments, and that will take a better understanding of why those 1/3 don't respond to CHOP, and a better understanding of the biology of what makes them resistant to treatments.

Do we know anything right now about the mechanisms of resistance to CHOP?

We know some, but I argue that we don't nearly know as much as we think we do. We understand the biology in the sense of understanding which mutation is present, or what type of gene signature. But often, the actual reason as to why a given patient doesn't respond to CHOP is very poorly understood. Patients that have the same biopsy, same genetic signature, some of those patients are cured and some of those patients are resistant. And it's difficult to predict prior to therapy which of those patients are resistant.

For patients that are resistant to CHOP, what options exist for them?

The standard of care for the past 20 years for those resistant to CHOP has been strong chemotherapy followed by an autologous stem cell transplant. Beyond the second line setting right now, there are a number of FDA approved agents for patients with relapsed BLBCL, and many of those FDA approved agents are being studied in combination CHOP and rituximab [Rituxan; R-CHOP].

What clinical needs are still unmet in this patient population?

The needs that are still unmet are finding more personalized therapies, specifically for those patients who are not cured with R-CHOP. But I would argue even in those patients who are currently cured with R-CHOP, that we don't want to use 1970s, chemotherapy in 2050. We want to be able to have personalized approaches and be able to move beyond effectively sledgehammer kind of blunt force instruments and use more precision medicine. So, we clearly need to do better urgently for the folks who are currently resistant or not responsive to chemotherapy. But I'd argue in the long run we need to do better across the board.

Do you see more aggressive approaches like autologous stem cell transplant and targeted therapies moving to the frontline setting in the future? Or do you think they'll remain a second- and third-line option?

I think that CAR T cells have the potential to move to the frontline for a subset of patients, for those that are not going to be responsive to our standard treatments. I think that's an approach that has merit, to try and use a powerful weapon at an earlier time point. I don't think stem cell transplant will do that. But I do think some of the other targeted therapies, the antibody drug conjugates, the bispecific antibodies, antibodies in combination with other immune therapies do potentially have a role to play in the frontline setting.

Where do you see the DLBCL space going in the next 5 to 10 years?

Well, I'd love to say things will be dramatically different. But we could have said that at any point over the last 20 years and would have been wrong. There are multiple ongoing studies looking at ways to improve the frontline setting. But innovation is more likely in the relapse space, which then filters up to the frontline space. And I think that the CAR T-cell studies showing potential advantages in the second line will change the landscape for patients who have relapsed after R-CHOP in the next 5 to 10 years to favor using CAR T-cell therapy. I think based on having that better cure fraction in the relapse space, more innovation may be possible in the frontline space. And so therefore doing studies that are not handcuffed to the 1970s chemotherapy for fear of not giving a patient the old curative therapy and missing a potential window for cure, I think that will allow us to do more innovative studies. I've done a handful of clinical trials using targeted therapy combinations prior to chemotherapy. And what we've shown in those studies is the response rates are very high. And patients tolerate it very well. And so that's still on a clinical trial stage. But it does show the potential that these targeted treatments can work better in newly diagnosed patients and potentially forego the need for chemotherapy.

I think the R-CHOP plus combination trial designs a failure. And I think that more innovative trial designs are needed. But clinical research still remains the best weapon we have to fight cancer in general and specifically DLBCL.

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Newer Agents for DLBCL Show Potential for Earlier Use in the Course of Treatment - Targeted Oncology

Absolute markets Insights has added a new statistical data titled as, Complementary and Alternative Medicines Market to its exhaustive database. It explains dynamic aspects of the businesses to get comprehensive data for better understanding of the customers.

Latest technologies and new trends which have been adopted by top-level industries are explained to get proper directions for the businesses. It is aggregated on the basis of some significant market segments such as type, age group, and end-users.

Moreover, it focuses on leading industry key players across the global regions such as North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and India. Different internal and external factors such as, size, shares, demands, dynamics, challenges have been mentioned, which are responsible for fueling or restraining progress of the companies. Informative data regarding the challenges faced by the industries and approaches adopted by them to overcome those threats has been included. This research report is helpful for both established businesses as well as startups in the market.

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In terms of revenue, the Complementary and Alternative Medicines Market stood at US$ 2,498.24 million in 2020, and is anticipated to reach US$ 9,759.38 million by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 16.4% during the forecast period (2021-2030).

In terms of geographical locations, the Sao Paulo city accounted for the highest market share in 2020 owing to the huge number of population in the location and increasing prevalence of non-contagious ailments

Traditional Alternative Medicine Therapy segment hold the largest market share among the different alternative medicine therapy types available in the global market due to the changing perspective towards a more healthy approach.

On the basis of age group, adolescent segment hold the largest share in the Brazilian market due to the high prevalence of diseases in the location. According to an article published regarding the effects of Clustering Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Diseases among Adolescents from Southern Brazil, it is been concluded that Adolescents had a high prevalence of simultaneous risk factors for NCDs (Non-Communicable Diseases).

Key players operating in the Brazil complementary and alternative medicines market are Optum, Inc., Ach, Quantum-Touch, and Herboflora amogst others.

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Key Highlights of the Report for 2021-2030:

Shifting trends from a standardized treatment approach to a combined treatment, where people were provided natural unconventional treatments along with the standardized treatments is anticipate to assist the Brazil complementary and alternative medicine market. Complementary and alternative medicine includes practices like consumption of dietary supplements, massage therapy, acupuncture and drinking green tea amongst others. A company named Sanofi is one of the leaders under dietary supplements sales in Brazil. However, the company faces intense competition from other market participants owing to the fact that these aforementioned companies tend to offer cheaper alternatives options than those offered by Sanofi. Technological advancements (the Vcaps Plus Purple Carrot and Blue Spirulina capsules by Lonza) carried out by manufacturers for sports nutrition and others high growth market segments is expected to assist the healthy living trend in Brazil

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Complementary and Alternative Medicines Market segmentation:

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Complementary and Alternative Medicines Market By Global Business Trends, Future Demand, Segmentation , Top Key Players and Forecast to 2030 | Optum,...

Octobers The Renegade Issue Download Now

Esme Rose Chapman is a tough cookie. Illustrator, model and daughter of MATCHESFASHION Founders Ruth & Tom Chapman, Chapman is shes a true testament to the beauty and the steely determination and drive that can exist beneath.

I usually get up around seven in the morning. I struggle with insomnia so its super important for me that I have a fairly regular sleep-wake routine. If Im in the same city as my dogs the first thing I always do is go and wake them up and cuddle them. Then I drink my lemon water to rehydrate. I have a rebounder which is like a tiny trampoline. Most days Ill put on some music and go gently jump on that for 10 minutes to stimulate my lymphatic system and have some really gentle movement in the morning. I cant handle other forms of exercise but rebounding really doesnt require much, its very low impact and easy. No matter how much sleep Ive got the night before my morning always tends to look this way because even when Im struggling these are the practices that re-centre me.

I had just moved to New York to start studying Psychology at NYU. I was only beginning to settle in when about three weeks into being there I suddenly had acute pain in my abdomen. I was living in the East Village and I took myself to the nearest emergency room. Its a strange moment to recount because I was so unaware at this point how drastically my life course was going to be altered. After many hours of morphine and the most astonishing amount of pain, I was diagnosed with a volvulus of my colon that needed immediate emergency surgery. I should have been back at school fairly quickly, but it soon became clear that I wasnt recovering as expected. I spent that week hallucinating, tachycardic, and hardly lucid and received an incredibly low quality of care during this time. I had contracted septicaemia during the operation, which requires urgent treatment, or it quickly becomes life-threatening. Yet it was left undetected and untreated for days by the hospital despite my parents voicing concerns and asking repeatedly if I was septic. Eventually, the doctors realized I was very sick, and after a week with these symptoms, I was taken in for another emergency surgery and placed into ICU. The doctors didnt listen to me when I woke up and told them I could feel the water in my lungs.

My parents tried to transfer me to another hospital but were told several times I would not make the journey. It was clear at that time that though moving me presented a risk, staying in that hospital under the care I was receiving posed a greater risk to my life. Thankfully, due to help and support from wonderful friends and their doctors, I was blue-lighted by ambulance to a good hospital on Madison Avenue where doctors attempted to save my life.

Six surgeries later, and having spent six weeks in intensive care, I was transferred onto a regular ward. I truly believe that the amount of love and support I was surrounded by, had a profound effect on helping to heal me, and Im forever grateful to the people who showed up for me. Im also so grateful to the incredible doctors, surgeons and nurses who saved my life and put me back together again.

The past three years have been very challenging in terms of my health. Ive suffered from severe post-sepsis syndrome and thats caused some unpleasant neurological symptoms that have meant I havent been able to return to university. As a really curious person who loves learning, initially, this was difficult for me to accept. However, through this experience, Ive been redirected onto a different path and Ive ended up learning more about myself and the world than I would, had I attended university. Ive done so much self-reflection and internal work that I would have otherwise never have got to until much later in life. As unrelenting and dark as illness can be, I think in some ways it can be an opportunity for expansion because youre forced to confront every part of yourself. I believe that ultimately this experience will come to inform what I end up doing in life, though Im still figuring out how.

Of all the things Ive learned about myself, its that I have a sheer determination and will to survive and bring myself back to health. Ive realised I have incredible self-discipline and am so committed to applying that energy to what I do with the rest of my life.

My dogs! I find animals to be extremely perceptive and sensitive. My dogs always know when Im having a difficult day and give me extra love. Being around them calms my nervous system and brings me so much joy. Prayer for me has also been very transformative. I find it to be a form of meditation. Whether we are religious or not, I believe that it can help us to suspend ourselves from our immediate environment and worries to feel a deeper sense of wholeness, connectedness and trust in the world. Im also really lucky to have great friends who have been there and a solid family I can rely on.

When youre struggling with chronic illness and western medicine hasnt provided you any answers or solutions, you really dive deep into your own search for those answers. I take a holistic approach to my health. I believe there are many facets to healing, whether thats physical, emotional, spiritual. To me, alternative medicine is the original medicine. I always find that I feel lighter and have a stronger sense of wellness whenever Im able to be in the sunshine or reconnect with nature. Im really conscious of the quality of products I use in my environment, whether thats cosmetic products or household products. I dont like to put anything on my body (whether thats makeup or perfume or lotions) if theres a long list of ingredients and chemicals of which I dont recognise the names. Id much rather buy an aloe vera plant and use that to moisturize. Knowing the origin of everything I use is important to me and my health. I love natural ways I can keep a clean, safe environment for myself, for example filling my living room with spider plants to purify the air. A piece that has been fundamental for me and my health is diet. What we eat essentially becomes us, and Ive found tremendous healing for not only my physical body, but also my mind, through my diet. Anyone whos close to me knows I love to eat an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Im always juicing and making delicious smoothie bowls for my friends whenever they come over.

Diane Von Furstenburg has been a wonderful mentor for me. Some days its challenging not to see my mindset drift or get caught up in where my identity lies beyond struggling with my health. Diane always reminds me its important to never be a victim in your own life and not give my power to anything or anyone. She reminds me that no matter what I am facing my strength and capacity to overcome it is far more powerful. She hasnt just impacted my approach to my health, but so many aspects of my life. Im much more conscious now than I was a few years ago, about who I give access to in my life, and how I allow people to treat me.

Anthony William, The Medical Medium, has opened his arms to me through this process. He has also provided with me so much knowledge and generosity that has allowed me to move forward with powerful tools to help navigate health challenges, and also the faith and trust that my body is always working for me. He is so selflessly dedicated to helping the chronically ill and to watch his mission unfold is a privilege.

Coming from London, where we are so fortunate to have a social welfare system that gives us the NHS, it didnt cross my mind that in a country like America, there would be drastic discrepancies in care between hospitals depending on the kind of socio-economic neighbourhood they are in. The scales fell from my eyes about American health care. If my parents had not have known people who understood the system, I would not be alive today. Im of course profoundly grateful for that but it sickens me that had I been less privileged, I wouldnt be here.

I feel more aligned with the creative side of myself now, so I plan to explore various forms of creative expression. I think particularly my generation are abandoning the idea that you need to commit to one career path for life. I used to be very attached to specific outcomes in my life, thinking I needed this or that to feel a sense of fulfilment. I feel more open now, and excited to foray back into the world and see where it takes me.

Thank you for including me in The Renegade Issue. These last few years have made me realise I am definitely an out-of-the-box thinker. Im not interested in anyone elses opinions on how I live my life. I admire anyone who challenges the status quo. One of my favourite thinkers is Ayishat Akanbi, @ayishat_akanbi. I really enjoy her open-mindedness and her real desire for discussion around sensitive, complex topics. She is a compassionate voice in an often divisive world.

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An exclusive interview with the brave & beautiful Esme Chapman Emirates Woman - Emirates Woman

The Global Report on AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market Size, Status, Growth and Forecast 2021-2027.

The AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market research report is a significant wellspring of astute information for business methodologies. Gives a AYUSH and Alternative Medicine industry outline giving development examination and authentic and future value, income, market size, and demand and supply data (if appropriate). Examination experts give point by point clarifications of significant worth chain and retailer investigation. This market study gives extensive information that improves the arrangement, degree and use of this report.

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Top Key Companies: Baidyanath, Himalya Herbals, Ganga Pharmaceuticals, Patanjali, Hamdard

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Understanding of the market segments Comprehensive data-backed facts and figures Listing and detailing of market mechanics relevant to regional markets Discussions on the scope of business, growth and decline of segments Analysis of how US, UK, Japanese, and Chinese markets operate Variation of customer behaviours in regional as well as international markets Market trends and what revenue generation avenues

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Further key aspects of the report indicate that:

Chapter 1: Research Scope: Product Definition, Type, End-Use & Methodology

Chapter 2: Global Industry Summary

Chapter 3: Market Dynamics

Chapter 4: Global Market Segmentation by region, type and End-Use

Chapter 5: North America Market Segmentation by region, type and End-Use

Chapter 6: Europe Market Segmentation by region, type and End-Use

Chapter 7: Asia-Pacific Market Segmentation by region, type and End-Use

Chapter 8: South America Market Segmentation by region, type and End-Use

Chapter 9: Middle East and Africa Market Segmentation by region, type and End-Use.

Chapter 10: Market Competition by Companies

Chapter 11: Market forecast and environment forecast.

Chapter 12: Industry Summary.

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AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market 2021 | Trends, Growth Demand, Opportunities and Forecast to 2027 The Manomet Current - The Manomet Current

Mike Tyson has found peace in psychedelic medicine and now he wants to share that message with the world.

Universally recognized as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers in history as well as one of the highest-paid athletes of all time Tyson is joining the growing list of celebrities advocating for the therapeutic use of psychedelics like magic mushrooms and LSD.

Tysons career was marked by professional success and personal controversy.

Now, after experiencing the benefits of psychedelics for himself, the "Kid Dynamite" is getting ready to take a jab at the global mental health crisis with a personal investment in Wesana Health, a biotech company in the medicinal psychedelics space.

YEKATERINBURG, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 6, 2018: American professional boxer Mike Tyson during a press ... [+] conference following a boxing masterclass for RCC Boxing Promotions boxers and children at the Martial Arts Academy established by the Russian Copper Company. Donat Sorokin/TASS (Photo by Donat SorokinTASS via Getty Images)

The fighters first encounter with hallucinogens came at a very early age, while growing up in Brooklyn during the mid-1970s.

I did acid early in my life and it was a bad experience, I never did it again. I did it once in my life when I was like eleven, he says in an interview.

Being so young, Tyson was unable to recognize that psychedelics like LSD could offer a healing potential if applied in the right context.

Almost four decades had to go by until the fighter had a second round at psychedelics. During that time, Tyson became the youngest boxer ever to win a heavyweight title, coming out victorious from 50 of his 58 fights, 44 of them by knockout.

However, his personal life was riddled with emotional instability, substance abuse and persisting trouble with the law.

As I got older I got introduced to the toad and then I did various plant and animal medicines, he says, making reference to 5-MeO-DMT, a very potent psychedelic substance naturally produced by the Sonoran Desert Toad.

5-MeO-DMT is currently being researched clinically for various mental health indications including treatment-resistant depression.

Tyson began using psychedelics therapeutically about five years ago and he claims the experiences marked such a profound change in his life that he will never be the same again.

After a life of excess, the boxer-turned-entrepreneur says psychedelics taught him a lesson on the value of moderation.

You see how much my life changed five years ago? I was a junkie five years ago. I didn't even think I could survive. Then I got introduced to animal and plant medicine, says Tyson.

Before you always read about me in the papers, doing something negative. Now, what happened to that guy? You dont see me partying anymore. Thats not my life anymore, he says with pride.

For patients undergoing treatment with psychedelic drugs, part of the beneficial effects of these substances can be traced back to their ability to induce a state of awe or a mystical-type experience. These chemically-induced spiritual states of mind have been found to produce consistent and long-lasting psychological benefits.

For Tyson, psychedelics also opened a gate towards spiritual growth that became reflected in his own personal improvements.

It's hard to really articulate it from my perspective, but psychedelics helped me assume my relationship with God, added Tyson, self-described as a Muslim who carries the characteristics of many religions.

I dont use it for recreation, Im not a recreational user, he says. This stuff is only done from a spiritual perspective. We go to ceremonies, you know, we have to bear witness and be humble.

Tysons successful experiences with psychedelics led him to invest his own capital in this growing industry, which has already seen several unicorn companies listed on the NYSE and the Nasdaq.

The entrepreneur, who already leads the Tyson Ranch cannabis brand, became and investor and adviser in Wesana Health, a company researching psychedelics like psilocybin in the treatment of traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, two severe conditions often experienced by combat athletes, which as of today have no known cure.

CEO Daniel Carcillo is a former NHL left winger who cured his long-sustained chronic traumatic encephalopathy by exploring different therapeutic protocols with psilocybin and other alternative medicines.

In May, the company announced a joint project with The World Boxing Council to study the therapeutic potential of psilocybin at reducing the effects and symptoms of traumatic brain injury in boxers.

Theres tons of companies to get involved with, but it's only the right one that would do for me. And I think Wesana, they're the right ones with my personality, I think it suited just well, says Tyson ahead of his participation at Wonderland:Miami, a psychedelics industry event to be held in November.

Im involved with the whole team, and this is what were doing, were educating people, says Tyson.

UNIONDALE,NY - MARCH 10,1986: Mike Tyson (L) lands an uppercut against Steve Zouski during the fight ... [+] at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Mike Tyson won by a KO 3. (Photo by: The Ring Magazine via Getty Images)

At 55, Tyson says he regrets many of the choices taken early in his life.

However, he urges people to take control of their lives and enter a path of healing, whether it be with psychedelics or by other means.

This is my medicine. I'm not telling people what to do. I'm telling you what my experience was with it, he noted.

Sometimes a person doesnt have to see you to be inspired by you. Just your actions can inspire somebody without them even seeing or knowing you. But knowing your actions.

When it comes to the medicinal use of psychedelics for athletes, Iron Mike believes the decision should be left for the athlete, instead of a regulating body.

I wish I knew about this when I was boxing because I would never box without it. I just think it varies on the individual. He should have the right to want to use it or not.

Tyson says psychedelics served him as a preparation for his own demise.

I'm afraid to die, but I know I don't cling to life. But that's what all this stuff is for, that is what animal medicine and plant medicine is for, preparing for our expiration date. This is preparing you for death, he says.

When asked if he would try synthetic psychedelics like MDMA, Tyson says he prefers naturally produced substances.

Im happy with what Im doing over here, I'm using the real stuff. I'm using the real plants and the real animals, and I'm really cozy over here, he commented.

Fight your fears, and dont be afraid to try it. You cant be free unless you free yourself from fear.

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Mike Tyson Believes In The Power Of Psychedelic DrugsAnd Hes Putting His Money Where His Mouth Is - Forbes

Contrarian without a cause is the best description of Kyrie Irving I ever heard. It often seems like Kyrie desperately tries to be a revolutionary but has no revolution. Still, his instinct to fight authority and mistrust institutions seems to have a lot more connected to his personal basketball experience than we think.

Back in 2015, Irving was playing in his first playoffs. LeBrons return made the Cavs immediate favorites to win the East and appear in the Finals for the second time in franchise history. Kyrie started with a bang he dropped 30 in his first playoff game. But fans were concerned when he missed two games of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Hawks due to a knee injury. Irving appeared in Game 1 of the Finals against the Warriors, but the return didnt last long Kyrie exited the game with an apparent knee injury. The diagnosis wasnt good; Irving suffered a fractured left kneecap that required surgery.

It was major surgery that sidelined Kyrie for a while the injury happened on June 5th, and his first game back was on December 20th. While Kyrie presents his decision not to get vaccinated as a matter of principle concerning labor issues (and not being anti-vaccine), his personal experience cant be overlooked.

He has been through a lot of injury stuff, including what he felt, and his family felt, was being put in danger not just by the Cavs medical staff trying to force him through the Playoffs in 2015, but [also] LeBron suggesting through his entourage that Kyrie should play through it.

Irving apparently didnt want to play in that Game 1 but was getting a lot of pressure from the Cavs medical team and LeBron to tough it out. A broken kneecap later, you can see why Irving developed a mistrust for team doctors and leaders who only consider winning.

When the Nets were recommending shoulder surgery in late 2019/2020, he ghosted on them completely because he didnt trust the Nets to give him the right advice. He was flying all around the place, getting 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinions; buying food from a Honduran herbalist online instead of listening to these elite doctors on the Nets medical staff.

After his experience with the Cavs and LeBron in 2015, it makes sense that Kyrie would ask for 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinions from doctors not paid by the team. I completely get that if anyone suggested going under the knife, I wouldnt make such a decision lightly. And as someone who tries not to take drugs as much as possible, I can even get people trying to help their bodys healing process through diet and healthy habits. Where Kyrie loses me is at Honduran herbalist online.

What is apparent is that Irvings decision not to get vaccinated is probably a lot more about vaccine skepticism, not trusting doctors, and searching for alternative medicine than we are led to believe. For a basketball fan, this sheds light on why the KD and Harden will get him to change his mind strategy didnt work. LeBron was making suggestions that impacted Kyries health, and it didnt end well. So the probability that he would repeat the pattern with KD and Harden is obviously lower than we think. When you learn that he ghosted the Nets on his shoulder recovery, ghosted them again while taking some time off during last season, and now all thats going on around his vaccination status, the latest news out of Brooklyn makes sense.

At the end of the day, (theres) 16 million dollars in salary this upcoming year and 186 million dollars, as far as an extension, that he will not be offered now.

Kyrie has a $36,503,300 player option for 22/23, so even without giving him an extension, the Nets are still looking at paying Irving max money next year. If they want to get him off the team, a trade seems to be their only option. But the question remains, who would be willing to take the risk and can offer anything the Nets would want. For now, the answer seems to be no one.

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Kyrie Irving held the Cavs and LeBron James responsible for his injury in 2015 - Basketball Network

Nearly five million in the UK are believed to have raised blood pressure, putting them at the perils of stroke and heart attack. Fortunately, the early impetus to make lifestyle changes can have a protective effect against such diseases - and diet is a good place to start. One superfood when added to your diet may have strong anti-hypertensive effects, which have been observed in the space of a few hours after intake.

Moringa Oleifera leaves, which are native to North India, produce a rich green powder packed with vitamin A, calcium, and vitamin C.

The food, sometimes found in smoothies and health bars, is rapidly gaining popularity among superfood enthusiasts as a trendy ingredient.

However, the plant has also garnered a lot of attention in medical circles, after a string of studies supported its use to lower hypertension.

In fact, mounting evidence shows Moringa could serve as an effective alternative medicine to treat high blood pressure.

READ MORE: High blood pressure: It can 'affect your satisfaction with sex - overcome challenges'

Though the whole plant is concentrated with vitamins and minerals, it is the leaves that carry the most benefits.

Most studies to date have studied the effects of the plant's leaves to determine the effect on hypertension.

In 2018, researchers behind one study observed a significant decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

The researchers compared the effects of the natural plants to those seen after intake of medication.

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They noted: As the analysis was done by the survey many agreed that it is more effective than modern medicine.

The use of Moringa leaf gave a constant change; that too in a short period of time while modern medicine does not give a constant change in blood pressure reading.

Thus the Moringa leaf can provide the desired effect as a natural control measure for high blood pressure and can be regarded as alternative medicine."

They explained that the shortcomings of modern medicine for blood pressure are down to the way they are prepared. They said: "[They are] made in such a way that only the needed phytochemical content is extracted and prepared for the medicine."

But when we intake the leaf as a whole many phytochemical contents present in it work together and make the action more effective, the researchers continued.

One separate study measuring the effect of Moringa leaves on the body after consumption of salt also concluded the superfood was also successful in lowering blood pressure in such instances.

This time, researchers measured the effects of the Moringa leaves at regular intervals following intake.

They noted: A significant difference was observed between diastolic blood pressure at baseline and two hours postprandial [after the meal].

These findings in human subjects indicated the lowering effect of Moringa Oleifera leaves consumption on the 2 hours postprandial blood pressure and showed a postprandial lowering effect on both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure despite prior high consumptions of salt.

While the plants have shown great promise at lowering blood pressure, researchers have warned that in some cases, it could cause too big a drop if taken alongside other drugs with similar effects.

According to the NHS, high blood pressure is considered to be 140/90mmHg or higher, with blood pressure readings between 120/80mmHg and 40/90mmHg denoting a slight risk of developing hypertension.

Blood pressure that is between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg is considered ideal.

The NHS advises that adults over 40 get their blood pressure at least once every five years.

Continued here:

High blood pressure: The superfood that significantly lowers hypertension in two hours - Express

You cannot reason people out of a position that they did not reason themselves into. Dr. Ben Goldacre

Last month, Newfoundland and Labrador health officials repeated their plea to residents not to fall down a social media rabbit hole of lies when it comes to COVID-19 and vaccines.

Misinformation is among the top reasons for vaccine hesitancy, and in the age of social media, misinformation is abundant, highly accessible and even convincing, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said during a COVID-19 briefing.

Health Minister John Haggie has decried online hoaxes and half-truths since the beginning of the pandemic.

Anti-vaccination or anti-vax misinformation has reached a fever pitch in recent months as businesses and government institutions have started implementing mandatory vaccine policies.

While you may think its spread by nameless gnomes, bathed in computer screen light while they sit in dark basements, the truth is it is often spouted by otherwise prominent and successful members of society.

Former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford runs a blog from his home in British Columbia thats awash in anti-scientific conspiracies and medical misinformation.

The theme throughout is one of truth being oppressed by a cabal of government and corporations.

This is the kind of information Big Pharma and the corporate media are trying to suppress, reads a line from one of the guest posts on his site. The sentiment runs through many of the posts.

One of the most recent posts, titled Tragedy in Alberta, a Courageous Doctor Speaks Out, cites a speech in Vancouver given by a physician during the September anniversary of the Nuremberg Code.

The doctor describes how he was allegedly booted out of an emergency ward near Red Deer, Alta. for giving the anti-parasite medication ivermectin to struggling COVID-19 patients. The doctor reports that two of three patients he gave it to eventually improved.

A few blog readers questioned the truth of the story which Peckford and his fans vehemently defended but lost in the debate was why a doctor administering an unapproved drug in a Canadian hospital would be considered a hero.

Nor did the irony of giving a speech about it during a celebration of the Nuremberg Code an international doctrine against conducting unethical experiments on humans seem to register.

Ivermectin has caused no end of grief in the United States, where rumours of its effectiveness against COVID-19 have caused emergency room visits by people who have ingested doses meant for horses and livestock.

There is still no firm evidence the drug actually works against the coronavirus.

Based on the current very low to lowcertainty evidence, we are uncertain about the efficacy and safety of ivermectin used to treat or prevent COVID19, the authors of a July 2021 Cochrane study of several clinical trials. The completed studies are small and few are considered high quality.

Cochrane studies are considered the gold standard of systemic reviews of existing research.

One large study, supervised by McMaster University in Hamilton and conducted in Brazil, was shut down in August because no discernible benefit was detected.

Peckford was asked to discuss the post with The Telegram but declined, other than to say he doesnt consider it to be propaganda.

Ivermectin, like other dubious or untested treatments, has become a focus for anti-vax sentiment because it serves as an alternative to vaccination.

So, too, has a database known as the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a U.S. registry that contains every reported negative event that occurred after a vaccination.

Founded in the 1970s to provide transparency in the evaluation of vaccine safety, VAERS has been frequently abused by anti-vaxxers to shock the public into thinking the worst.

One of VAERSs strengthsits opennessis also a potential weakness in the politicized COVID-19 era, wrote Meredith Wadman in the May 2021 issue of the journal Science.

Anyone who receives a vaccine authorized in the United States can report an adverse event to VAERS, as can doctors, family members, and others. That openness ensures VAERS receives plentiful reports 228,000 for COVID-19 vaccines alone since December 2020, more than four times the number received in all of last year for all vaccines.

The problem is that the database itself does not establish whether all reported events were actually caused by the vaccine. Most are simply coincidental.

People may misinterpret VAERS, which is easily searchable, as a catalogue of actual side effects, rather than possible or suspected ones, wrote Wadman. And its easy to pull data out of context.

In other words, you may have a heart attack after getting a vaccine, but you were probably going to have one anyway.

The VAERS scare is one of the narratives posted on the website of another anti-vaccine warrior with local connections, Marjorie Clarke.

Clarke, the owner and founder of Tru Salon Suites in St. Johns and Mount Pearl, goes by Marjorie Gervais on the social media site and frequently shares anti-vaccine misinformation.

Last week, a list surfaced on her site that showed close to 30 businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador which were allegedly willing to defy any vaccine passport system that would mandate they check the status of patrons.

The provinces system is scheduled to be rolled out Thursday.

The list was apparently also posted on NL Business Against Health Passes, a private Facebook group with more than 800 members thats administered by Clarke and local Peoples Party of Canada candidate Dana Metcalfe.

Well over half of the businesses on the list are hair and nail salons, along with a handful that specialize in herbal and alternative medicine. There are two automotive garages and a couple of construction companies.

Not all of these businesses would be required by law to use the passport system, since essential businesses such as retail stores and health services are expected to be exempt.

But a few dine-in eateries also on the list would not be exempt.

The Telegram reached out to two of the latter businesses. One didnt reply, but a person who responded via iMessenger for one well-known establishment seemed to be surprised. They did not want to comment, but did express gratitude for being notified and said they would be contacting the person who posted it.

Within 24 hours, the list disappeared from Clarkes page.

Because The Telegram could not adequately verify the stance of any of the businesses on the issue, it is not naming them.

But Clarke did reply to questions through iMessenger.

Im not really interested in the media twisting my words to suit the official narrative, she wrote.

When asked what her position meant for personal service providers who used her facilities, she replied, I have no comment, other than to say the tenants at Tru Salon Suites are independent business owners and you would have to ask them individually how they will be dealing with any mandate.

For her part, Metcalfe says shes not anti-vaccine but believes the choice not to be vaccinated shouldnt put ones employment in jeopardy or mean being excluded from public events.

More here:

The anti-vaxxer is a person in your neighbourhood - Toronto Star

Oct 16th 2021

WINTER 2025 could, with luck, be normal. Health-care systems will come under strain, as always, from the spread of respiratory diseases that land people in hospital. Influenza will afflict the elderly. Respiratory syncytial virus will make some children gravely ill. And a newish seasonal disease will belong in the mix: covid-19. It will overwhelmingly sicken the old, even more than flu. But, outside hospitals, life will continue largely uninterrupted.

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The world has experienced pandemics before. In the cholera outbreak of the 1830s nearly 3% of Parisians died from the disease in a single month. At the end of the 19th century around 1m people may have died from Russian flu, which some think was caused by a coronavirus. The Spanish flu that struck in 1918 killed around 50m in just a couple of years.

Covid-19 joins that list. The pandemic has probably killed 10m-19m people, with a central estimate of 16.3m, according to The Economists excess-death model. Covid is far from the deadliest disease humanity has faced. Many of those infected do not even know they have it. But it is new and it is everywhere. When it emerged the entire world was susceptible to it. That immunological naivety, combined with the nature of the virus itself, explains the speed of its spread and the awfulness of its impact.

But in the end, all pandemics burn out. Eventually, sufficient numbers of people develop immunity so viruses can no longer find new hosts at the rate they need to sustain their growth. And yet only one human disease, smallpox, has ever been completely eradicated. Others, such as influenza, measles and cholera, slowly became endemic, part of the landscape of disease around the world, checked but not eliminated by vaccines and medical treatments.

In that respect, covid is no different (see chart 1). What is novel about this pandemic is the speed at which sciencein the form of both vaccines and treatmentsis accelerating the diseases journey to endemicity. The question now is how quickly it will become endemic and what the world will look like as it does.

Most governments accept that eradicating covid is impossible. The last large country in the world still pursuing a zero covid strategy is China. Yet eradication became impossible soon after the disease appeared, argues Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist at the World Health Organisation, because too many countries failed to fight the virus as strongly as possible.

The extreme transmissibility of the Delta variant has rendered that goal even more obviously futile. Endlessly repeated lockdowns and severe quarantines are the only alternative. All societies find these intolerable. Ultimately that will be true even for China. Instead every country will have to work out how to live with the disease.

Endemicity means that a virus circulates at a steady rate. Infections sometimes rise or fall but transmission is generally constant, stable and predictable. The disease does not overwhelm nor does it disappear. Infections reach an equilibrium where the proportion of the population becoming susceptible is in balance with the likelihood of transmission. Vaccination can push that equilibrium point lower.

Humans have done exactly this to polio and measles, two devastating diseases which were endemic throughout the world in the 20th century but which have now been eliminated from much of the planet. The overwhelming incentive for the vaccination campaigns was that both viruses harmed and killed children, who are born with naive immune systems. Covid is unlikely to follow the same path, not only because it causes relatively little harm to youngsters, but also because vaccinated people can still contract the disease and pass it on, although cases are usually mild.

Contrast that endemicity with that of the common cold, which can be caused by any of around 200 viruses. Most children who contract it do not get seriously ill. Most adults, even older ones, who contract it do so with some immunity from the string of colds they endure over the course of their life, and so are able to fight it off. And so colds persist as endemic diseases at a relatively high level of infection.

Influenza is different yet again. It is one of the most dangerous endemic diseases, killing 290,000-650,000 people every year, most of them elderly. Vaccines exist, and are widely given every year to protect vulnerable people. But there is no prospect of wiping it out, in part because vaccination drives are not comprehensive, and in part because the virus itself mutates faster than vaccines can consistently keep up with.

The harm from endemic covid may eventually fall somewhere between that of influenza and the other common coronaviruses. Trevor Bedford, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, has calculated that Delta reproduces twice as fast as H3N2, one of the most common flu strains. He also notes that, to date, SARS-CoV-2 has also evolved about five times faster than the flu virus (although that rate will slow as the disease becomes endemic and hence less prevalent). Dr Bedford believes that the burden of SARS-CoV-2 will come to resemble that of influenza in the next few years. Individual infections will be no greater threat, but covids higher transmissibility will mean more cases and more deaths. America alone could, by his estimates, see 50,000-100,000 deaths a year from covid. Flu kills about 12,000-52,000 people in America every year, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Others think that instead covid will look more like the other common coronaviruses that circulate widely yet barely trouble health-care systems or society. David Heymann, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, notes that the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is closer to that of the common coronaviruses than it is to that of the common influenzas. Unlike flu, its outbreaks are not driven by children. And whereas flu vaccines prevent at best 40-60% of infections bad enough to merit a visit to the doctor, and need to be tweaked every season in light of new variants, the jabs for covid are much better at preventing serious illness and death and thus far have required no updates. All this may mean that endemic SARS-CoV-2 will end up more like the other endemic coronaviruses than flu. Jabs may still be needed periodically for the most vulnerable but Dr Heymann thinks that even in bad covid seasons deaths may not get anywhere as high as those from influenza (using current flu vaccines).

Regardless of where endemic covid ends up, the world is not yet there. Hospitalisations and deaths are soaring in eastern Europe where vaccination campaigns have been poor. Large swathes of the populations of New Zealand and Australia, which have had low infection rates as a result of stringent lockdowns and slow vaccination roll-outs, are still immunologically naive. Countless people have yet to be reached by either virus or vaccine. When the virus arrives in parts of the world without immunity, the result will be spikes in disease and death.

In the medium term even highly vaccinated places will see flare ups. Britain, which ditched its precautions earlier than most other European countries, shows that covid can bear down on hospitals even in places with the benefit of high levels of vaccination (see chart 2). In September covid patients occupied 25-35% of its intensive-care beds. They tend to stay there for two to three weeks, leaving less room for post-operative care patients, who need a bed for only a couple of days. But in Britain, as in the rest of Europe, 80-90% of those hospitalised with covid are unvaccinated. The divide between vaccinated and unvaccinated is even starker when it comes to death. Covid is now a leading cause of death among unvaccinated Britons. In the first half of 2021 just 1% of all deaths in fully vaccinated people in Britain were because of covid. Among the unvaccinated, the disease caused 37% of deaths.

Globally, these waves of infection will be dampened by the collective immunity that runs through and around the remaining pockets of the immunologically naive. Over time, these spikes will become ever rarer. And the world will stumble towards endemicity. What endemicity looks like and the speed with which countries get there will depend on three things: what proportion of a given population are immune to the virus and the quality and durability of that immunity; how the disease can be treated; and how the virus evolves.

Immunity is hard to measure. The immune system is complex and poorly understood. Both the quantity and quality of the antibodies it produces matter. Up to six months after vaccination, the immune system is still in the process of optimising and perfecting its response, says Ali Ellebedy, an immunologist at the Washington University School of Medicine in Missouri. Antibodies induced in the first two or three months are being slowly replaced by much better antibodies in terms of binding affinity to the spike. Thats hard to see. Quantitatively there are fewer antibodies but qualitatively things are improving.

Nor are antibody levels a definitive marker of protection. People get covid with very high antibody levels. Its not that there is an obvious cut-off where you can say This high, you are protected, says Sarah Walker, an epidemiologist at Oxford University. But at a population level, a high prevalence of neutralising antibodieswhich prevent a pathogen from infecting the bodymeans fewer infections.

Even without great insight into peoples individual or collective immunological state, the broader picture is clear. As the virus has spread through populations, the immune systems of those who survive have been training themselves on its shape, preparing antibodies to fight off future infection. The protection vaccines afford against infection wanes in the months after people receive them, but the training they give the immune system to prevent serious disease and death stays strong.

Vaccines have offered about a third of humanity a shortcut to endemicity, bypassing sections of the path that would otherwise have been far more deadly. Some 3.8bn people have had at least one shot, and 2.8bn are fully vaccinated. Add them to those who have survived infection and it looks as if over half the worlds population boasts some degree of immunity to covid.

Vaccines greatly reduce the risk of severe illness and death. They have saved hundreds of thousands of lives and let many health-care systems keep operating. Covid is the first pandemic for which the cyclical tussle between viral spread and evolution and developing immunity has been short-circuited so fast and on such a scale.

But the overwhelming majority of those who have acquired immunity in this less risky manner reside in wealthier countries. In poor places the majority have and will continue to do so via infection. The rate of vaccination, which surged through the first half of the year to reach some 43m doses administered per day in late June, had dropped to 30m doses per day by the end of September, although much of this decline is because of slowing vaccination in China. It is remarkable that humans have been able to administer vaccines faster than the virus is able to spread between people, but this now looks as though it is a phenomenon confined only to rich places.

At present, the worlds collective level of immunity to covid is nowhere near that for other endemic respiratory diseases. That is because all humans are exposed to older endemic diseases repeatedly through their lives, particularly as children. Every exposure offers a new chance to train the immune system. Dr Ellebedy says it will take decades for humanity to reach a comparable level of immunity to covid. The coming years, then, will be characterised by a slow process of cyclical decline that runs in tandem with a broadening and deepening of immunity through infection.

Eventually, once immunity is widespread enough, cases of covid will fall into a seasonal pattern similar to other endemic respiratory diseases that have been circulating for a much longer time. Rachel Baker of Princeton University, who studies how viruses respond to environmental conditions, says that she expects within five or six years the patterns of covid infections will become seasonal, like those of other endemic coronaviruses, rather than being driven by immunological naivety.

The fact that covid will almost certainly become a disease that humanity can live with is thanks not only to vaccines but also to the rapidly advancing treatments. Remdesivir, an antiviral, can reduce hospital admissions by 87% in high-risk patients if it is given in the first stage of covid. But it needs to be administered intravenously in a hospital setting. Antibody therapies, another kind of drug, are highly effective but are usually given in the same way.

AstraZenecas antibody drug, AZD7442, which is under regulatory review in America, solves some of these problems because it can be in injected in places like doctors surgeries. It will probably be expensive so will not be used widely. But it offers a quick shot of covid-fighting antibodies so will provide extra protection to those at risk even after vaccination such as the immunocompromised. A hit of antibodies will also be useful as prophylaxis both for those at high risk of catching the virus (such as health workers) and those likely to become very ill (those with underlying conditions such as cancer or diabetes or the elderly residents of care homes).

Cheaper oral antiviral drugs which will further reduce the burden that covid places on humans, and on the hospitals that treat them, are also on the way. Most promising is molnupiravir, made by Merck and Ridgeback, both drugmakers. Taken within five days of symptoms onset it reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death by about 50% in patients with mild or moderate covid.

Merck expects to supply 10m courses of the drug by the end of 2021. Pricing will be tiered, and so it will be affordable across the planet. Results from trials of similar drugs from Pfizer, Roche and Atea Pharmaceuticals could add to the antiviral arsenal.

Antivirals such as molnupiravir do not cure covid-19. But they make it much less dangerous. One worry, however, is that the virus will evolve to resist a single line of antiviral therapy. Peter Horby, a professor of emerging infectious diseases at Oxford University, warns of the need to consider using combinations of antivirals from the outset. HIV antiviral drugs showed that resistance to single therapies arises quickly.

These drugs will make covid easier to live with but governments and public-health authorities will still need to ensure that any outbreaks do not overwhelm health-care systems. Each winter the circulation of influenza will add to the challenge. It may make sense to once again take steps to reduce the transmission of the disease. In the rich world very few occasions should require going into the office with a respiratory complaint, especially in winter. Annual boosters and flu shots will help keep vulnerable people out of hospital.

Over all this hangs the inevitability of the coronaviruss continued evolution, and the question of its impact. Any new variant that emerges is overwhelmingly likely to do so based on Delta, which has displaced virtually all the rest. If a new variant emerges which outcompetes Delta, it will eventually spread everywhere. The Beta variant, which is now being driven towards extinction, was better at defeating immunity than Delta is, but less good at spreading, and so receded.

A new variant that combined their traits would be a disaster. Delta Plus, a subvariant that has so far not taken off, has picked up mutations of the sort which characterised Beta, but no evidence suggests yet that this is leading to its wider spread or vaccine evasion. But the possibility of a Delta variant with Beta characteristics, as well as the need to keep people out of hospital, will always be a reason for limiting the spread of the disease. Were ill-equipped to predict the timeline, says Daniel Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, since coronavirus evolution is by its nature unpredictable.

No matter what mutations SARS-CoV-2 picks up in future, endemic covid will not exist in a vacuum. Viruses compete with each other. A study carried out by Public Health England on data gathered between January and April 2020 found that people already infected with influenza were 58% less likely to test positive for covid laterprobably because the two viruses were jockeying for dominance within the human body. For a few vulnerable people, though, it was possible to get infected with both at the same time. For them the risk of death was almost double that of being infected with SARS-CoV-2 alone.

Even as endemicity sets in, the world still has a long way to go. It is not using all the toolsvaccines in the arms of all the vulnerable, masks and ventilationto get there as fast and safely as possible. Covid will eventually become endemic. But it will throw up many challenges in the months and years ahead. The road to the new normal could yet be very bumpy.

Dig deeper

All our stories relating to the pandemic can be found on our coronavirus hub. You can also find trackers showing the global roll-out of vaccines, excess deaths by country and the viruss spread across Europe.

This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline "What lies ahead"

See the rest here:

How the world learns to live with covid-19 - The Economist

A psychedelic revolution might sound suggestive of 1960s hippie culture, but some people notably, a recently retired Republican sheriff predict that's what the2020s will bring in medicine.

The search for treatment of common mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, has led researchers to hallucinogenics, which have shown promise when used in clinical, strategic ways.

Two proposedcompanion billsin the state Legislature would, if passed, directthe Florida Department of Health and and the Board of Medicine to study the therapeutic efficacy of three "alternative therapies," MDMA, psilocybin (the substance found in "magic mushrooms") and ketamine.

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The Florida bills' language is identical to a bill passed in Texas earlier this year, said Rep. Michael Grieco, the House sponsor.

A similar bill was signed into law this year in Connecticut, whileOregon has approved the use of psychedelics in supervised, clinical settings beginning in 2023.

At the start of this year, Grieco, a Miami Beach Democrat, filed a very different, 48-page bill taking note of what has happened in Oregon and elsewhere and "trying to sound the alarm that Florida needs to start taking this seriously." The bill didn't get a Senate sponsor or go anywhere in the 2021 session, but it did attract a lot of media attention.

"(Other lawmakers) want to joke around. The average person thinks of people taking mushrooms and going to a Grateful Dead concert, or listening to Pink Floyd in the basement, but that's not what this is," Grieco said.

Even with the jokes, Grieco said now is an opportunity to talk about the real medical benefits hallucinogens offer.

"It allowed me to spend last session speaking to my colleagues, especially those across the aisle who might be more skeptical the way the marijuana law went down in Florida," Grieco said.

He said he "plagiarized" the Texas bill, which is two pages, in the hopes that the Republicans who control the Florida Legislature will follow the lead of the GOP-led legislature in the Lone Star state.

Sen. Lauren Book, a Democrat who represents part of Broward County, is the Senate sponsor.

Grieco and Book have found an ally in former St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar, a Republican who served for 16 years before retiring at the end of 2020.

"We're getting to the point in our profession where the mental-health issues are everywhere," Shoar said. "Sixty percent of the issues are somehow related to mental-health issues."

Shoar said he's followed psychedelic therapies for more than 10 years, and was convinced of a coming revolution in medicine after reading "How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us about Consciousness, Dying, Depression, Addiction and Transcendence," a 2018 book by journalist Michael Pollan.

"That book really brought it home for me," Shoar said. "This, in my opinion and a lot of other people's opinion, is going to be the third revolution of mental-health care."

Talk therapy was a breakthrough, Shoar said, but it often takes years to be successful. Medication, including antidepressants, was another, but there remains a segment of people who could benefit from psychedelic treatments.

Grieco and Shoar say treatment will be different from the way marijuana is made available to individuals with a card issued by a doctor. It would be taken in a clinical setting, a controlled environment where people would be guided through the process by medical professionals.

"I keep stressing it's a very different silo (than marijuana)," Grieco said.

A wave of public-opinion change, including Florida voters' approval of medical marijuana in 2016, is accompanyingpromising medical studies, including one study at Florida State Universityexaminingketamine as a treatment for alcoholism.

"Society is open-minded toward it. Now is the time," Shoar said.

The psychedelics under study have, to some extent, been tainted by the 1960s and 1970s culture of recreational drug use. But they predate the concept of turning on, tuning in and dropping out.

Psilocybin is the "magic" part of "magic mushrooms." It is naturally occurring and has been used by civilizations, including those in Mexico and Central America, for centuries.

Roland Griffiths, a professor of psychology and neurosciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, announced in late 2020 that his research showed two doses of psilocybin can relieve symptoms of major depression for at least a month.

"It appears the fundamental mechanism underlying how psilocybin works is very different than any other treatment we currently have for depression. The how and why that works is still largely a dark mystery," Griffiths said in a video on the Johns Hopkins website.

Brain-imaging studies have been interesting, he said.

"It appears that psilocybin is modulating areas of brain responsible for emotional regulation and the psychological correlate of that is that people have increased psychological flexibility after this kind of treatment," Griffiths said. "They feel more empowered to take control of their life, to see their life in a new way, and engage with it in a way that opens up entirely new repertoires to them of engaging with life and behavior."

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MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, has also been used inclinical trials, including one earlier this year published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicinethat showed it to be effective in reducing symptoms of those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ketamine, an anesthetic developed in Belgium as an alternative to PCP, was approved for human use by the FDA in 1970, and was used by U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam war. It has served as a treatment for severe depression and anxiety and appears to show promise as a treatment for alcoholism.

Greg Rovner, cofounder and CEO of Getheally.com, a holistic and alternative medicine platform, said the Florida bill is important because while some communities including Oakland, California have decriminalized hallucinogenic drugs, the most effective use can only be determined through science.

"That's actually what's most important. Decriminalization not paired with studies is not going to solve the situation and could lead to addiction and misuse," Rovner said. "They've been studied in other countries and the studies have been successful."

One psychedelic not mentioned in the Florida bill is LSD, or acid. It, too, has shown promise as a treatment for mental-health issues, Rovner said.

"Down the line, theres a set of psychedelics I think are going to hit the market as treatments for depression. LSD is one," he said.

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Florida lawmakers want to authorize study of mushrooms, MDMA as alternative therapies - Daytona Beach News-Journal